Li Ke fought back a few times with the iron rod she carried with her, but she was quickly outnumbered and tied up. Just then, Chen Jiaojiao in the crowd recognized her.
There are rules in this area where refugees gather. Newly arrived women must first be given to the eldest brother. Chen Jiaojiao told everyone that this was her own sister.
She assured everyone that she would persuade Li Ke to settle down here and make the most of her value.
Then, Li Ke was granted permission by the locals to go back to Chen Jiaojiao's dilapidated house with her. After all, their boss hadn't returned yet, and they didn't dare break the rules.
Li Ke ate and drank water in Chen Jiaojiao's dilapidated house, only managing to fill her stomach halfway. Chen Jiaojiao noticed that Li Ke had a limp and her physical strength was also gone, so she assumed that Li Ke had given up on her fate.
Chen Jiaojiao went out to find work at night, while Li Ke rested for the night. When the sun got hot, he secretly ran away from the refugee settlement.
During this period, the temperature begins to rise, and people will choose to end their activities and start resting. Li Ke couldn't find a better time either, and the longer she stayed in this place, the more disadvantageous it would be for her.
She knew her actions were somewhat reckless, but she had no time left. She would rather die somewhere unknown than stay with these people who had turned into beasts.
As for the value that Chen Jiaojiao mentioned?
What kind of value? To sleep with the men here, bear children, create population, and become a numb meat-producing machine?
Willingly stay here, becoming a numb and indifferent tool for sexual release, just like Chen Jiaojiao is now.
Li Ke leaned against the wooden stake, closing her eyes to rest. No matter what Chen Jiaojiao said, she listened silently, ignoring everything.
Chen Jiaojiao took a loose brick from the wall. There was a fairly large hole in the brick. She took out a black plastic bag from inside, opened the bag, and found a small handful of yellowish noodles.
She carefully broke the noodles into pieces and put them into the boiling water: "This is the last bit of fine food I have. You're injured, and there's no medicine here, so eat some noodles to recover. Once you're healthy, if the boss takes a liking to you, he can provide a lot of these noodles, and our lives will be easier from now on."
Chen Jiaojiao kept stirring the water with chopsticks. The water vat wasn't big, and there wasn't much noodles. She didn't want to waste a single drop of the soup, but she also wanted to cook more noodles.
After turning off the stove, Chen Jiaojiao placed the noodles aside to cool, far away from Li Ke's position.
Li Ke's legs are both injured, and he experiences severe pain if he moves them. Chen Jiaojiao's actions are somewhat unnecessary.
"Sister, what have you thought about? If you still don't agree, I can't protect you anymore. Then they'll treat you like a sheep." Chen Jiaojiao asked, staring at Li Ke.
Looking at her half-sister, Li Ke thought, "She was foolish before, but after struggling in this apocalypse for over a decade, she will never believe Chen Jiaojiao again."
"Aren't you the goddaughter of the Qingyuan base chief? How did you end up like this?" Li Ke asked instead of answering Chen Jiaojiao's question.
Chen Jiaojiao's eyes flickered, as if she was trying to figure out what to say, but Li Ke interrupted her thoughts directly: "Don't try to lie to me anymore. I can tell when you lie."
“Three years ago, Chen Qi caused the base commander’s son to get injured during a mission. The base commander’s wife was very angry and kicked the three of us out. Chen Qi got an infection from his injury and didn’t make it. My mother was so shocked that she went crazy. I went out to find food and when I came back, I couldn’t find anyone. Later, I wandered here and begged for food with these people.” Chen Jiaojiao said with her eyes lowered, her tone flat and without much emotion.
Li Ke didn't care whether what she said was true or false. She didn't care about the two people she mentioned, even though one was her biological mother and the other was her half-brother.
"I'm hungry. Bring me the noodles. We'll eat first and then we can talk about what to do next," Li Ke said calmly.
Chen Jiaojiao turned around, picked up her chopsticks, and stirred the noodles again. Then she took another cup of water and gave Li Ke two sips.
"I have to go out to find work tonight. I'll bring back some food in the morning and share some with you," Chen Jiaojiao explained as she handed the noodles to Li Ke.
Li Ke took the noodles, pulled out the chopsticks from her hand, and quickly put them in her mouth. The temperature was still a little hot, and there was water stains on the edge of the cup, but she didn't care.
Chen Jiaojiao picked up another pair of chopsticks and wiped them on her clothes. She also picked up her bowl of noodles. Li Ke had already held up the empty cup in front of her: "I want more. I need to get better so I can have the strength to work, right? Don't you want to depend on me for survival? You can't even bear to part with this little bit of noodles?"
Chen Jiaojiao looked at Li Ke, whose skin had thickened considerably. Although she was a little reluctant, she still poured out two more mouthfuls of noodle soup. Li Ke still held up the cup: "If you pour any more, you might still have to rely on me for food in the future. It won't matter if you eat less this time."
Chen Jiaojiao, with a grim expression, pulled out another bite of food from the couple's plate, and then refused to eat any more: "You can't let me go without even a bite, can you? I only eat one meal a day now."
Li Ke took the cup back and ate the slightly bitter bits of noodles and soup clean.
Chen Jiaojiao also sped up, afraid that if she was a step too slow, Li Ke would take advantage of her again.
As Chen Jiaojiao raised her rice bowl to drink her noodle soup, Li Ke lunged at her with chopsticks. Just as Chen Jiaojiao was about to cry for help, Li Ke pointed a chopstick at her left eye: "If you dare to scream, I'll gouge your eye out!"
"I won't call, I won't call, sister, why are you doing this? I saved you!" Chen Jiaojiao replied softly with her eyes half-closed, the tip of the chopsticks pressing against her eyelids, her voice filled with fear and grievance.
Li Ke pressed the tip of his chopsticks against Chen Jiaojiao's eyelids, straddled her, and whispered, "Don't try to play tricks on me. Tell me your purpose, or I can easily destroy your eyes."
"I didn't..." Chen Jiaojiao tried to argue, but Li Ke pressed the chopsticks directly into her eyes.
"Ah! I'll tell you, I'll tell you! No! I'll tell you everything!" Chen Jiaojiao was so scared that she kept crying. One eye was from pain and the other was from fear. She also started waving her hands uncontrollably at Li Ke.
“If you move your hand again, I’ll shove my other hand down your throat! Talk now!” Li Ke took another chopstick and poked it into Chen Jiaojiao’s throat, then pulled it out.
Chen Jiaojiao vomited several times in discomfort, but the chopsticks pressing on her eyelids remained motionless, and she dared not make any movement.
"The commander of Qingyuan Base is your biological father. I want you to take me back to Qingyuan Base," Chen Jiaojiao revealed her true purpose.
"Then why didn't you say so sooner? Why did you leave me here?" Li Ke questioned.
Chen Jiaojiao paused for a moment before carefully saying, "This isn't a place we can just leave on a whim. I'm afraid if I tell you in advance, you'll alert the enemy. Besides, even if we're going to set off, we need to store some dry food before we leave."
"How did you confirm that the Qingyuan base chief is my biological father?" Li Ke pressed.
"It was Mom who said it, and Mo Qing didn't deny it. That time outside the Qingyuan base, I wanted to call out to you, but you walked too fast and seemed unwilling to talk to us, so I didn't dare to chase after you," Chen Jiaojiao said, half-truthfully.
Li Ke: "How did you find the Qingyuan base? Aren't you with your boyfriend's family? He has so many supplies, why doesn't he want to support you?"
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